US 4,923,248 · Granted 1990-05-08
The Patent That Put a Personal Climate Control System in Your Chair
Imagine a car seat that can heat you up in winter or cool you down in summer without blasting air everywhere. This patent describes exactly that—a cushioned seat and backrest with hidden air chambers connected to a cooling/heating device that makes the surface warm or cold to the touch, so you're comfortable no matter the weather.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a seat pad and backrest construction that encloses an air chamber (called a plenum) connected to a temperature-control device using Peltier cooling or heating technology. What's protected here is the specific arrangement of the metallic mesh inside the pad that transfers heat or cold directly to a person sitting on it, as well as the option to have separate plenums for the seat and backrest, each fed temperature-modified air through an adjustable valve. Also covered is a unified chair design where the pad and backrest share a single air chamber fed by a Peltier unit mounted on the chair frame itself.
Why it matters
This patent was filed in the late 1980s, when personal climate control in furniture was still experimental. By combining Peltier thermoelectric cooling with seat design, it created a foundation for what later became a real product category—heated and cooled car seats, office chairs, and even gaming chairs. The invention lets users adjust their own microclimate without heating or cooling an entire room, which saves energy and solves the common office problem where one person is freezing while another is sweating.
Real-world use
Modern luxury cars and high-end gaming chairs use this exact principle—you sit down, press a button, and the seat surface warms up or cools down within seconds, letting you stay comfortable during a long drive or gaming session.
Original USPTO abstract
A seat pad and backrest enclose a plenum into which pressurized air is provided from a closely adjacent Peltier air temperature and humidity modifying apparatus (either cooled or warmed). A metallic mesh is part of the seat pad and backrest and warms or cools the user by conduction. Alternatively, the seat pad and backrest can be separate each having its own plenum, and modified air is provided to both via a selectively adjustable proportioning valve. Yet another alternative unitarily incorporates a seat pad and backrest into a chair with a single plenum fed temperature modified air from a Peltier unit mounted on the chair.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 4,923,248
- Filing date
- 1988-11-17
- Grant date
- 1990-05-08
- Assignee
- Steve Feher
- Inventor(s)
- FEHER; STEVE
- CPC class
- A47C7/74
Want to file your own patent?
If you're designing furniture or accessories with built-in temperature control, check our free patent scanner to see what's already locked down in your space.
Free patentability scan